Capital’s infrastructure ready to receive water from southern aquifer
by Hana Namrouqa | Feb 28, 2013

AMMAN — The capital’s infrastructure is ready to receive water from the Disi Water Conveyance Project, 93 per cent of which has been completed, according to a government official.

Thirty-three out of a total of 55 wells for pumping water from the Disi aquifer have been drilled, according to Basem Tulfah, secretary general of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and acting secretary general of the Water Authority of Jordan.

“The project is progressing according to schedule and water from the Disi aquifer is expected to reach Amman in July this year under the agreement signed between the government and GAMA, the Turkish company implementing the project,” Tulfah told reporters.

The Disi project, work on which started in 2007, entails drilling 64 wells, 55 of which will be used for the generation of water, while nine will serve as piezometer wells to measure the elevation of water.

Being carried out on a build-operate-transfer basis, the Disi project seeks to provide the capital with 110 million cubic metres of water annually via a 340-kilometre pipeline, which will convey water from the southern region to the capital, passing through several water stations in Maan, Tafileh, Karak and Madaba.

The project is viewed as the Kingdom’s first step towards achieving water security, according to ministry officials, who said the water supply to Amman and Zarqa, 22km east of the capital, among other governorates is expected to improve.

“Once the Disi project is operational, households in the capital will start receiving water three times a week instead of once under the water distribution programme. Later, supply is expected to become constant,” Tulfah said.

Under the current distribution programme, households in Jordan receive water once during a set period, usually a week to 10 days, on a rotating basis. Scarce water resources in the country compelled the Kingdom to initiate the programme in the early 1980s to conserve limited resources and ensure a sustainable water supply for subscribers.

http://jordantimes.com/93-of-disi-project-completed